omar's journal

Photos From Bali Surf Trip

2011-06-16T10:18:00.002-07:00

Here are the promised photos! Just got 'em developed last week..

Poppies Lane 1

Our hotel , Komala Indah 1

our hotel room with our rented boards

front entrance to the hotel

Daily prayers at Pasar Ubud

our hotel yard

art gallery on the way to Ubud

lil surfer girl on scooter

half-done painting

one of the Minang food joint there at Jalan Benesari

breakfast after morning surf session

Kuta Beach

That's all folks!

Bali Surf Trip - No I don't want transport, cewek or magic mushroom.

2011-06-08T18:30:00.000-07:00

I was in Bali over the last weekend.

Bali. Didn't go there for some Eat , Pray and Love adventure - Julia Roberts did that for the movie so I don't have to. The objective of this trip is purely simple , surf surf surf eat sleep surf at Kuta.
(Well we did go to Ubud for a daytrip ha ha)

I will put up pictures from the trip soon but in the meantime here's a random doodling I did while I was chillaxing in Kuta.

Just some details of the trip:

Booked Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur to Bali at about RM800 / USD 250 (it was peak school holiday season hence the high price). Normally the price should be around RM500 ish.
Arrived at Denpasar Airport - took the official taxi to our hotel in Kuta - 20 mins drive @ 55,000 Rupiah (USD 6)
Stayed at Komala Indah 1 , Jalan Benesari - 5 mins walk to the beach , 10 mins walk to all the happening streets (Jalan Legian, Poppies Lane 1,2 etc) Aircond Room - 2 single beds at 160,000 rp (USD 15-20?) Excellent place outside out of the noisy Poppies Lane and close enough to the beach - how ever at Poppies you can find cheaper accomodation there for about 50,000rp(USD6)
Rented a scooter for about 50,000 rp/day (from Komala Indah hotel)
Rented surfboard for about 35,0000 rp/day (from Freedom Surf Shop at Jalan Benesari)
Surfed only at Kuta in front of Holiday Villa Wina hotel , good waves there , there's current pulling you out to the sea so becareful a bit when paddling out.
Budget eats - Warung Malang (there's also a night food market on the way there), any of the Minang Nasi Padang place is quite cheap too.
Good western food - Bamboo's Corner (Poppies 1) , Warung 96 etc.
Daytrip cab to Ubud ( 1 1/2 hours away) at 250,000 rrp (30usd?) bought few paintings there for about 250k rrp each.
On the way back we had to rent a van from hotel (the van can easily fit 5-6 ppl) for about 60k rrp.

Ok will update this blog with pictures soon, currently they're being processed ( took my film camera with me this time hence the wait) :)

keep the stoke!

It Has Been Yonks

2011-05-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

I guess I'll keep this blog alive by posting pretty pictures as usual... :)

oh I turned 31 back in March :) few friends organized a party for me @ Alexis BSC

Nad's Baby Shower

Pantai Kijal

Granma's house at Mengkuang Titi, Penang

Nad's Baby Shower

Chinese Clan Jetty , Penang with Couchsurfers

Tatiana @ Pantai Kijal

Chinese Clan Jetty

Anna and Riika

At my kampung , this is my Tia

Dataran Merdeka with Karl and Caroline

That's all folks!

Photos from Surfing Season 2010/2011

2011-03-01T07:44:00.000-08:00

well goodbye monsoon season 2010/11 . you have been a great surfing season for me. Dec/Jan saw some nice swells coming in ..too bad about the wind though..anyway it is monsoon swell so i guess wind is part of the package.

I will see you again soon around nov/dec this year! until then I might visit Bali/Indo for a bit of surf okayyyy?

Here are some pics from my trip over these few months :)

Surfing Malaysia and Monsoon Season

2010-12-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

Lama tak update...

I've been assigned to a new project in Subang so I'm pretty much busy throughout the week. I've also just moved into my new pad @ Riana Green east , Wangsa Maju. However I haven't fully unpacked yet...

ok la enough with the boring 'this-is-what's-happening-in-my-life-so-far' details

Surfing! yes surfing..it is monsoon season here in Malaysia where tradewinds from the north-east (from the direction of India) blows down towards Malaysia bringing with her ocean swells, windy conditions and rain rain rain. East coast of Peninsular Malaysia is lined with white sandy beaches but come monsoon season, folks tend to avoid this section of the country due to the rainy season. However with mother monsoon in town , she brought ocean ground swell which create enough ripple for us wave-starved surfers in Malaysia! :) Monsoon season would usually start around Nov till late Feb so during this period, most weekends I'll be out of KL and probably camping/surfing at Cherating, Kuantan, Kijal etc. Anyway I have created a video here of my December surfing sessions just in case if you folks are curious how's the surfing culture in Malaysia is like :) here ya go!

most of the spots captured here are Kijal - jeti and quarry , Kemasik and Cherating beach.

well that's all for now folks!

Flip the Bitch

2010-10-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

Satu hari dalam bulan Ogos tahun lepas , aku membawa kereta pulang dari Northern Cascade National Park yang terletak 2 jam perjalanan, arah timur dari bandar Seattle.

Masa itu aku bersama Wendy Tran , seorang gadis Cina-Amerika yang agak comel dari San Francisco datang melawat aku dan lepak dengan aku over the weekend. Aku kenal Wendy semasa backpacking di Florence, Italy pada tahun 2007 - kami duduk di backpackers' hostel yang sama - lalu kami terus berhubung melalui email. Bila aku di tugaskan untuk projek di Seattle, aku hantar email kepada dia dan Wendy kata dia gembira dengar aku berada di Amerika, lantas dia beli tiket untuk melawati aku di Seattle.

Kembali kepada cerita pandu kereta tadi, aku perasan aku telah ambil jalan yang salah untuk pulang ke apartment aku di Mill Creek kerana aku ambil jalan yang melencong ke bandar Seattle dulu lalu aku berhenti kereta dan lepas check map aku kata pada Wendy dengan accent separuh american aku ' I think I've just missed the exit that will take us to Mill Creek faster, this one will go to Seattle first and then we have to drive up north - it is a longer route'

Wendy membalas 'well flip the bitch then!!'

aku pun heran, apa itu flip the bitch? adakah wendy membahasakan diri dia sebagai bitch? dan aku kena flip dia? sapa bitch di dalam situasi ini?

'What? flip the what?' aku tanya

Wendy jawab ' the bitch! the car , that's what we Americans say when we want to make a u-turn! now you have to make a u-turn to get back to the exit , so flip the bitch!'

'Ohhhhh that's something new. I've never heard that phrase before'

so aku pun 'flipped the bitch' ( the bitch is technically a Dodge Stratus model 2008 yang di sewa dari Enterprise Rental , di bayar oleh client aku)

lalu kami pulang ke apartment aku , sampai awal utk tidur awal dan bangun pagi dan jalan-jalan mencari lighthouse/rumah api di sekitar Seattle :)

bulan penuh dan cold storage

2010-08-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

Bulan

Malam ni ..kau bagaikan bulan penuh..mengambang di tengah malam , kecantikan muka mu bagaikan lekuk2 di bulan ala lempeng pisang yang tak masak rata - patut la keseorangan di kegelapan malam..oh bulan.

Cold Storage

di sebuah shopping mall yang baru di bandar KL yang huruf singkat nye adalah WWM.

Konsultant Kurang Berjaya: 'Wei jom turun tingkat bawah tu jap'
Penjual Barang Kemas Separa Berjaya : 'Buat apa?'
Konsultant Kurang Berjaya: ' Aku nak pegi Cold Storage'

Di Cold Storage , 1-2 gadis berjalan keluar dari supermarket itu

Konsultant Kurang Berjaya: ' Aku rasa kan banding dengan Giant , Carrefour dan Tesco, gadis-gadis di Cold Storage lagi 'refined''

Penjual Barang Kemas Separa Berjaya menangguk kepala tanda setuju.

June/July Happenings.....

2010-08-01T02:50:00.000-07:00

1. Dinner at Hokaido, Off Jalan Genting Klang with the badminton gang

Mariq and Najla

Chili Crab

2. Badminton sessions (2-3 times a week at Pro One Indoor Court, Wangsa Maju)

Mariq and Mayad in action

Jr, N , Ayu dan Warie

3. Nadiah's Birthday Party at Cafe Barbera , Bangsar

Moi, Effa, Mariana, Nad , Fahmi , Sam , Sam's friend and Tatiana

The whole gang

The girls...

4. Secluded Air Terjun @ Kg Orang Asli Karak and Cherating Beach Trip (on the same day!)

Moi with Effa and Claire in the background

Claire

Seafood dinner at Pak Su restaurant, Balok Kuantan.

That's all folks!

Hikayat Penjual Daging / Deli Associate di Meijer West Main St , Kalamazoo Michigan

2010-06-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

aku semalam cuti - kerana ada renovation di condo baru aku , sambil itu aku pegi lah buat contact lens di carrefour sambil shopping groceries. Aku beli halia seketul dan aku terpaksa pergi ke pekerja bangladesh muka separa pelakon bollywood dan suruh dia timbang dan kasi sticker harga halia itu. Lalu teringat lah aku satu kisah yang berlaku..

al kisah nya , dalam tahun 2000 begitu , seorang lelaki bekerja di supermarket di Michigan untuk menampung kos ijazah nya di Western Michigan University. Kerjanya ada title - Deli Associate , secara umumnya kerja ni hanyalah menimbang berat daging2 cold cuts mcm salami dan roast turkey, dan kemudian tampal sticker harga kepada plastik yang penuh daging2 itu. Bila hari sabtu ahad banyak lah makcik2 american tua yang sudah bersara suka datang membeli daging2 itu
' my grandson is visiting, need to make him some sandwich' kata makcik2 tua itu.. 'then i'm going to gamble in michigan city hee hee' tambah makcik tu sambil aku tersengih menimbang honey mesquite turkey roast dia

satu hari , datang lah seorang gadis jepun yang pernah aku nampak di kolej aku. dia agak cute walaupun nampak mature skit 'mungkin belajar master kot ..one them international students from japan'

dia melihat selection cold cuts dan dengan pelat pekat jepun dia order roasted turkey 1 pound 'one pound ..turkey pleasssse'

she wants it sliced thin.Aku dengan machonya mengambil that big piece of roasted turkey dan letak di atas slicer dan menghiris halus kepingan2 roast turkey sambil memikir idea untuk bersembang dengan dia .

'nak citer pasal apee eh?? camne nak strike conversation..ahh dia ni kan sama college , meh aku cuba try relate to the college'

lalu aku dengan macho nya memandang dia dan berkata dengan accent separa american 'Sooooooo you are studying at Western Michigan right ?? I've seen you before at the Goldsworth Valley pond area - I usually go there on the way back from dining hall , just to check out the pond and the ducks, it kinda releases the stress of studying the whole day you know..' *sambil sengih kerang busuk kepada dia , berpakaian comot potong daging satu hari*

Oklah mesti gadis jepun ni impressed dengan ayat aku tadi , aku bercerita tentang kolej kita, tasik dan cute ducks,, i mean come on those are cute cuddly ducks..girls gotta dig that kinda stuff....mesti boleh continue this conversation further

sambil aku tersengih kerang busuk kepada dia , dia melihat aku , tenung aku beberapa saat yang rasakan bagaikan berkurun lama nya , trying to process what I've just said ..pastu dia reply

' yes 1 pound turkey roast please'

EPIC FAIL

perbualan di dalam truck hilux di malam hari selasa

2010-06-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

couple weeks back..

penjual berlian: do you believe in true love?
arkitek separa berjaya: nope
penjual berlian: ooo why
arkietek separa berjaya: well love is supposed to be pure and true..if your love is not 'true' in the first place then it is not love at all yess? so no such things as true love, just love as it is
sigemok botak: she got a point there..

A Waterfall Somewhere Between KL and Karak

2010-06-09T00:40:00.000-07:00

My first weekend in KL, got tired of the city and decided to go out of town for some air sejuk waterfall experience with Mariana and Effa. We hung out there for couple hours and then left for Petaling Street / CM area to jalan2 and makan2 a bit...

air terjun

you have to hike down about 5 minutes

breakfast at Bentong

Central Market area

Petaling Street

Video Pengembaraan ke Pulau Hawaii

2010-06-03T11:59:00.000-07:00

here ya go folks!

song by Ka'au Crater Boys - Guave Jelly

click here if you can't see it!

http://www.facebook.com/v/453071107574

Mahalo!

Pulau Oahu (Honolulu, Waikiki, Haleiwa, North Shore dan Lanikai)

2010-05-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

a continuation from the previous post - these pictures were taken while I was on the island of Oahu, I'd say the most populated and touristy of all the islands in Hawaii.

Waikiki beach - a bit touristy to my liking..nice place to learn surfing though

local kids jumping off the cliffs at Waimea Bay

Waimea Bay on the North Shore

Pipeline surfspot when it is on a 1ft swell day

Pali Lookout

Lanikai Beach

The small laidback town of Haleiwa - the gateway town to magnificent 7 miles of North Shore beaches

My rental car and rental surfboard - surfed in Waikiki for 2 days..it was a bit flat so it was a really good session :I

Next Post - Video from the trip!

Pengembaraan ke Pulau Hawaii

2010-05-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Bought an Ukulele in Hilo!

Ola!

I'm back in KL (for good). Well, until the next project that is , god knows where they're going to ship me off to , as long as it is not Timbuktu! Anyway I'm back for good because I have rolled off my Seattle project earlier this month. But before heading back to KL , I've decided to stop over at 2 islands , Hawaii and Oahu. So here are some selected the pictures from that trip! :) These are taken while I was on the island of Hawaii (the Big Island)

Lava tube at Hawaii Volcano National Park

Waipio Valley

Went snorkeling to James Cook Memorial bay on this boat

Waipio Valley's Black Beach

1400ft tall waterfall near Waipio Valley

laidback town of Hilo, I want to move here!

Southpoint of Hawaii

Bodyboarding waves at Kua Bay , Kona
Somewhere south of Kona

Green turtle wading through the shallow sea water in search of seaweed to eat

Taken during sunset at Kona coast

To be continued with pictures from Oahu!

Perbualan Dengan Rakan Sejawatan

2010-04-28T01:56:00.000-07:00

'Let's go for dinner tonight , Blazing Onion burgers with sweet potato fries , 830 ish??'

'Dun wan, cannot eat after 8pm . will get fat'

'Why?'

'Have to eat 4 hours before sleeping mah..sleep at 12'

'then you eat at 9pm..sleep at 1am lah'

*trying to register the logic*
'ya lor...'

Of Tulips Galore and Westhaven State Beach

2010-04-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

Westhaven State Beach - Saturday - Took my colleagues here to show them the place I've been surfing this past one year...the beach ain't pretty , black sands with driftwoods all over but it is quite a nice place to chill and take pictures.. I love the sand dunes there..

you need to walk over these sand dunes to get to the beach

taking the board out of the bag

she sells seashells by the seashore, and the seashells that she sells are the seashore's shells...

told ya there are plenty of driftwood around here

cliffs

migratory

Now on to Tulip Festival (http://www.tulipfestival.org/) I was here two weekends ago - the first time was with my colleagues and the second time I was with a bunch of college kids from University of Washington (they needed a driver so Zurriya the Malaysian Student Org's president asked me to help them out)

Here are some pics for the trip!

Well that's all folks!

Discovery Park, Seattle

2010-04-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

Just some photos and videos from my Discovery Park trail hike trip...

from wiki:

'Discovery Park is a 534 acre (2.2 km²) park in the peninsular Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is the city's largest public park and contains 11.81 miles of walking trails. United Indians of All Tribes' Daybreak Star Cultural Center is within the park's boundaries. On the south side of the North Beach strip is a sewage treatment plant, but it is almost entirely concealed from the marsh, beach and trail.

The park is built on the historic grounds of Fort Lawton; most of the Fort Lawton Historic District (FLHD) falls within the park (although an enclave within the district remains in military hands), as does the West Point Lighthouse. Both the FLHD and the lighthouse are on the National Register of Historic Places.'

Video!

click here if you can't see it!
http://www.facebook.com/v/430885957574

Vancouver BC, Canada

2010-04-14T13:32:00.001-07:00

Just a recap of what has been going these past 2 weeks

Drove up from Seattle to Vancouver BC.It is about 3-4 hours drive (depending how long is the queue at the Canada/US border). Stayed at Uncle Hares' house in West Vancouver. Uncle Hares is the current Malaysian consulate general in Vancouver BC. Toured around Granville Island Market, Capilano Bridge, Grouse Mountain etc

Some photos :)

View of Vancouver's skyline from Granville Island

Capilano Suspension Bridge (15 mins north of Vancouver)

View from the top of Grouse Mountain about 20 mins north of Vancouver

Also I took some videos during the trip:

if you can't see it click here

http://www.facebook.com/v/428700487574

That's all folks!

Chinatown, Ayam Hidup dan Pemandu Bas

2010-04-01T09:23:00.001-07:00

Minggu lepas aku berbual-bual dengan rakan sekerja aku Kristy dan Shane. Kristy ada lah staff aku di sini dan Shane adalah Change Management person untuk projek ini.

Aku kata kepada mereka ' I'm going to Vancouver this weekend , going to checkout their Chinatown, I heard it is bigger than the one in San Francisco'

Lalu Kristy menyampuk 'my mom used to work near San Franciso's Chinatown , one time she was on the way back on a bus and the bus stopped in Chinatown and picked up an elderly lady. She had with her a live chicken bought from one of the Chinese grocery market there. The bus driver said 'Ma'am you can't bring that in here, the chicken is alive - it is a violation of health safety code''

Kemudian Kristy cakap lagi yang makcik tua itu tidak tahu hendak buat apa lalu dia tengok pada pemandu bas dan kemudian pada ayam hidup nya dan SNAPPPPP!!! dia patah kan leher ayam itu.

'See? Chicken no longer alive! I can board the bus now??'

Mak Kristy kata semua mat salleh dalam bas ternganga in horror melihat peristiwa itu terjadi

adehh kelakar...

Productive Weekend

2010-03-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

How was your weekend guys?

Mine was AWESOME

Don't you just love Seattle? Being in between the mountains and the pacific ocean - the opportunities for outdoor activities are endless. I think I'm going to seriously miss this place once I've gone back to Malaysia for good.

Well so to recap my weekend , I went surfing on Friday and stayed in on Saturday. Then on Sunday I went to the top of the mountains to snowboard! whee..

The surf was excellent on Friday - gentle wind blowing against the northwestern waves with swell of 5 ft 10 sec. Usually the surf spot (Westhaven State Beach) is like a washing machine, full of whitewash but that day it was just nice and perfect (if you don't take the cold 12 degrees water temp into the equation)

I've brought my shortboard 6'8 kinda fish hybrid bought recently at Wavehound Seattle. I've been meaning to step down from my longboard but now I know how steep is the learning curve when trying a shortboard. Looks like I need a lot of practice on paddling, duck diving etc on this one!

I have a video of the surf trip from that day here:

If you can't see it go to this URL link

http://www.facebook.com/v/425550457574

As for my snowboarding adventure on Sunday - I went there with the sole aim of practicing stopping with my heels while going down hill and maybe practice doing what we call a 'falling leaf' turn to pace yourself going downhill. No videos of me there but I have taken a picture from the top of the 'Easy' route called 'Holiday'

oh well , need to practice more carving and turning on the toe with snowboarding. Also not to forget - paddling with a shortboard!

Regards,
Omar

Snowboarding Session 13/3/10

2010-03-15T00:08:00.000-07:00

well it was my birthday that day..I was planning to surf this new place called Crescent Beach , located along the Strait De Fuca. It is about 20 miles west of Port Angeles which means I have to take the ferry to get there. But then bunch of my colleagues wanted to go skiing , so I though heck might as well try out snowboarding! :) I can always surf next week..ahh life in Seattle - you're spoilt for outdoor activity choices..

well anywhooo...here's a video of the ski trip!

if the video does not show up - you can check it here:

http://www.facebook.com/v/415258497574

rgds,
Omar

Perbualan di Restoran Thai

2010-03-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Semalam kami meraikan pemergian kawan sekerja yang tugas nya adalah data migration untuk projek kami. Kami pergi ke sebuah restoran Thai yang terletak di Mukilteo, sebuah pekan kecil 30 minit utara Seattle di tepi laut Puget Sound yang sungguh lawa. Di sini ada feri servis untuk pergi ke Whidbey Islands etc. Kami berbual bagaimana kita semua boleh terkecimpung di dalam bidang 'consulting' ini

N: 'So how did you get into consulting?'
F: 'I was an end user before with oil and gas company and then moved on to consulting.'

N then asked B the same question

N: 'So B tell me how did you get into consulting?'
B: 'well before this I was studying masters in neuro biological science'
N: 'wow that's impressive'
B: 'yeah I wanted to be a doctor , I've studied Biology for my degree and neuroscience after'

Omar (menyampuk): 'So what went wrong?'

B: 'I started dating....'

(laughter all around the table)

Wesport , Washington Surf Trip Last Weekend

2010-02-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was supposed to go to Vancouver with Eunice and Onn Onn. However their Canadian visa got rejected so we've planned a trip to Port Townsend, leaving Seattle Saturday morning.

However thanks to a miscommunication and faulty SMS text service, I was left at the hotel and when I called them it seems that they have boarded the ferry already. boo!

So I decided to surf ha ha

My longboard NSP 9'2 is missing its fins and leash so I had to stop by The Surf Shop at Westport to get a new fin and leash. Those two cost me about 40 bucks..bummer.

The Surf Shop (what a creative name for a surf shop) owner is big guy , I think he used to play American Football but a very cool fella. He is about 40 ish , big , grayish hair but very friendly. While I was paying for the fin and leash, he asked for my ID and I've showed him my Malaysian MyKAD ID. He was like 'oh malaysia! are you a platinum/blonde?'

I was like 'what?' and then I realized he thought I have platinum hair color ( see I was wearing a snow cap at that time) so I've showed him my bald head and told him 'hey man I don't even have hair ha ha ha'

So after that is done , off I went to the surf spot. MagicSeaweed.com surf forecast for that day was around 8ft swell with east wind at around 8mph. Whitewash was about 30 meters out I didn't even paddle pass through that , it is so hard with a longboard. But I've got some good ride off the whitewash. It was okay. I love that NSP board, it is light. However I've dropped the board on some of the big driftwood (well they're more like big logs washed ashore from the previous 25ft swell). Oh well gotta buy some epoxy resin and fibrecloth to fix those crack!

The local surf shop here in Seattle , Wavehound Surf, called me earlier about the availability of an Aloha Stryker 6'8 ft board. The owner told me that I can check it out - I hope this can be a good step up board from my long board. Well we'll see first, I'm gonna check it out this Saturday morning.

Anywayssss... I have recorded some video from that surf trip here you go!

Click here for video if you can't see it

Peace,
Omar

Aku Turun ke Padang (A Padang, Sumatra Travelogue)

2010-02-17T23:07:00.000-08:00

I'm at the beach , somewhere in Teluk Bugus , 1 hour south of Kota Padang , looking at the commotion in front of our hotel. The small hotel, which are commonly known as 'Losmen' around this area, is managed by Mikel , the owner's son.

Apparently the villagers are waiting for the day's catch to be pulled in from the sea and on to the white sandy beach of Teluk Bugus. I've seen an old fisherman lining up his fishing net all day long , and at times he just sits still in his wooden sampan out in the sea , calmly rocking to the gentle waves of the Indian Ocean.

A whole day's catch is not that much for these folks , maybe two bucket loads of small fishes, just enough to earn them 10 dollars which are then shared among 6-7 other fisherman.

I'm on the big island of Sumatra, about 2 hours away by flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My friend and I are in the Padang province, trying to find our so called 'Minangkabau' roots. Minangkabau people migrated to what was Tanah Melayu (now part of Malaysia) few hundred years ago with most of them settling down in the state of Negeri Sembilan.

Back at the 'losmen', I saw an advertisement of a day trip to the islands which are located not far away from the coast. I've inquired about it to Mikel , the losmen manager , and he told us for an equivalent of USD40 he can arrange for my friend Shamer and I to go on a day trip to two islands, complete with lunch. Mikel is familiar with Malaysians in general , having been sent to Malaysia for intership in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. 'I used to work at Pulau Jerejak Resort and then in Kuala Lumpur I've stayed in Cheras' said Mikel.

So we've arranged for the island hopping day trip on the next day. Our guide's name is Rizal , a 23 year old fisherman, son of the same old fisherman who've pulled out the net to the sea earlier. We also had an ustaz, a muslim teacher, Ustaz Samdi following us on the boat trip. He told us he was bored teaching religious studies and wanted a quick escape so Mikel promised him to take him to the islands.

Pulau Pagang was our first destination. Pulau means island in Indonesian language. All of us hopped on a medium sized sampan with a engine attached to the back of it. It was slow boat ride and it took us about one hour to get to Pulau Pagang. There was a family who've stayed there - and their job is to collect a token fee - I guess those are meant for 'beach' maintenance.

Rizal took out 3 food containers - they are our lunches it seems. Fried rice with fried egg , simple yet delicious when eaten on the beach on some remote island. Ustaz Samdi is just glad to be out on the islands, he teaches at the local school so I guess this must be his day off from work. He asked of us our age. We told him we are 27 years old. He asked us whether we have families back home , I told him we are still bachelors with no plans of getting married yet. 'Too expensive to get married in Kuala Lumpur!' I've joked to him. Then he looked at us , not really annoyed but he stressed that in Padang , young adults tend to settle down when they're around 22-24 years old. 'Kahwin itu kerana CINTA! bukan karena uang!' (You should get married because of love , not because you have to wait till you have enough money'. I was chomping down on those fried rice and thinking 'hey this guy got a point I guess!'

'Look at Rizal, he got married early' the ustaz said. Rizal is a tall lanky Minang fella. Being a fisherman and a beach boy all of his life , he has a quite tanned skin with shoulder length hair and a small tattoo on his arm. 'Nice tattoo' , I've said to him knowing that being a Muslim he is not really supposed to have that tattoo. Rizal said 'oh I've got this when I was younger and foolish, I've kind of regret having this tattoo. Now life is more about finding enough fish to catch and find enough money to feed my family.' He was telling his plans of getting his own boat, apparently a small sized fishing boat or sampans , complete with boat engine would set him back around 400 USD. This boat would enable him to catch more fish.

'Nanti Abang datang sini lagi dengan keluarga saya bawa keluar ke pulau' ('When you're back here with your family , I'll take you around in my new boat')
'Insyallah' (god willing) I've told him.

To be honest, to Malaysians in general, Padang is not really known as a beach getaway. During our flight to Padang, a large group of Malay makciks (aunties) can be seen chatting about , happy to be on this trip. According the their tour guide who was seated not far from us, he said:

'Oh ini shopping trip. Kitaorang fly ke Padang pastu naik bas ke Bukit Tinggi untuk shopping di sana.'
(this is just a shopping trip, we will land at Padang and take a charter bus to Bukit Tinggi to shop there')

Shopping trip? Interesting. We were on our way to Bukit Tinggi as well. The great Istana Pagaruyung (Pagaruyung Palace) , an icon of all things Minangkabau is located not far from here. That should be one of the first thing we would like to see , kind of part of our 'going back the the roots checklist'. However once we've reached Bukit Tinggi and inquired about the place at the motel , the receptionist told us the Istana was burned down few months back. This few hundred years old palace was made with woods , so one stormy day it got struck down by lightning and just burned to the ground.

At the main market of Bukit Tinggi, we were immediately noticed by many of the stall owners there - I guess from the way we dressed we just looked like Malaysians outright. Heck so many makciks from Malaysia came to this place to shop to a point whenever we inquired about a particular item - the prices are always quoted in Ringgit Malaysia. 'RM 50 adik! untuk dua helai kain batik jawa ni' so said one of the enterprising aunties there.

As we were on the way back to Padang Airport in the wee hours of the morning, the small rural roads seems to weave its way through the cliffs on the seaside mountain of Sumatra's west coast.Overlooking the sea, in its early morning darkness, I can see many fisherman's boat floating about , putting their light on to attract the fish to the net. What a magnificent view I thought to myself, it is as if you're seeing stars on a clear skies , only to see those distant lights reflected on the surface of the dark ocean itself.

We've met the same group of Makciks , bags all full of the latest clothing item from Bukit Tinggi, and the tour guide recognized us from the arriving flight. He asked us 'so what did you guys end up doing around Padang?' I've told him 'oh we went to Bukit Tinggi, but then we headed back to Kota Padang and took a van south to Teluk Bugus to checkout the beach and the islands there' Surprisingly his replies was 'Padang has islands?'. Yes they do. Very nice ones too.

Matahari Indah

2010-02-17T11:12:00.001-08:00

di situ kamu
matahari

semalaman ku tunggu
akhirnya tiba jua

kau tiba dengan cahaya pertama
di pagi yang nyaman

dan bisa pergi
di senja yang sunyi ini

hakikatnya kamu tak pernah pegi,
hanya ilusi bumi berputar

masakan ku bisa hentikan gerakan bumi ini
maka terpaksa lah aku akur
dengan pemergian mu
di akhir hari ini

Malaysia Flyback Jan 2010 - Surf Trip Pictures

2010-02-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

Below are some of the pictures from my various surf trip up to east coast of Malaysia , where mother monsoon brings with her wind and waves!

I would usually stay at this place in Cherating called Cherating Palm or something. But during the new year weekend , they didn't put my name down although I have made a reservation 5 days earlier so when I've arrived there with my friends , we found out there are no room for us at all. I've never been back there since then.

Cherating has a left sand bar point break with about 3-4 take off points depending on how good is the swell. Pictured here is one of the locals surfing left on it.

I have a video taken during my surf trip posted here:
http://sigemok.blogspot.com/2009/12/cherating-surf-session-4th-6th-dec.html

Locals at Cherating point

Yours truly waxing his board. You need to apply some wax to ensure extra grip for your feet (kinda helps when you're standing up!) I use a 10ft longboard shaped by Stewart Custom. Got this board for about 350 quids (used) from a nice guy in Cornwall UK. It costs me 100 pounds to send it back to Malaysia!

This is during one of my Kijal surf session. I have uploaded the videos from my surfing session on this blog last month. We left from Kuantan around 830am arriving there around 10am - no wind, glassy and perfect condition for me!

You can find the videos here:
http://sigemok.blogspot.com/2010/01/kijal-jetty-surf-session-vid-2.html
http://sigemok.blogspot.com/2010/01/jetty-surf-session-with-angah-and-yat.html

at Kijal beach, Nana and Mariq preparing for the surf session. Mariq was just goofing around with that pose.

My surf mobile back in Malaysia.

Surfing mates back home - Mariq and Nana. I got to know Nana from London, who is now back for good in Malaysia. She used to snowboard so she's a natural on the surfboard. She usually borrows my 7'8 mini-mal during the surf sessions. Mariq on the other hand is a friend from highschool - he took up surfing when his family migrated to Australia few years back. He is back in Malaysia now running a successful jewelery business. He rides a Webber 5'9 mini fish.

I'm back in Seattle

2010-02-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog

I'm back in the cold pacific northwest region of USA. The land of Starbucks and Grunge music. The land of majestic Northern Cascades mountains. Incidentally my hotel is overlooking those mountains :)

view from my window

I will be in Seattle for about 1-2 months , hopefully I will go back for good to KL after that.

Regards,
Omar

Kijal Jetty Surf Session Vid #2

2010-01-13T00:46:00.001-08:00

this one was taken with my Panasonic HD camcorder showing the incoming swell, Yat going under jetty etc

if you can't see the video you can clicky2 here

http://www.facebook.com/v/290361462574

cheers!

Jetty Surf Session with Angah and Yat

2010-01-12T03:44:00.001-08:00

woke up early last Sunday and drove up from Kuantan to Kijal (about 1 1/2 hour ride)

weather was perfect , no wind, there were 4 other guys in the lineup..we just jumped in and chilled there while waiting for the waves

Angah and Yat managed to ride underneath the jetty

here's a video of that surf session taken from onboard GoPro Camera

enjoy!

Cherating Surf Session 4th-6th Dec

2009-12-07T12:37:00.001-08:00

or you can click the link below

video here!

taken with GoPro Hero Surf cam , fixed onto my 10ft longboard. Excellent gadget to review your paddling, standup and other surf techniques while having a record of your sessions! :)

Bulan Baru

2009-12-02T13:38:00.001-08:00

Al kisahnya aku di Malaysia sekarang.

Secara rumusan tidak lebih dari 70 perkataan siap dengan maksud tersurat dan tersirat , ini lah aktiviti aku sepanjang Nov

1) Potluck dan Karaoke Session kat Apartment aku di Mill Creek bersama Hafid, Zurriya dan Shahril

2) Tengok K.I.S.S concert dengan Shahril. Regretted not wearing face paint.

3) Jumpa karaoke bar di Seattle yang ada lagu rock kapak - sempat mendendangkan lagu Mega 'Bayangan Gurauan' di Seattle. Teman se karaoke dari Morroco tak tahan lagu rock kapak melayu. Can't blame him.

4) Balik Malaysia - dapat upgrade ke Business Class. How to go back to Economy class?? THEY SERVE SATAY ON BUSINESS CLASS MAN.

5) Pergi Apit's Engagement ceremony kat Impian Kondo @ Ampang. Apit ni adik ketiga aku.

6) Surfed at Cherating on 30th Nov - it was raining the whole day. Need to practice with my 10 ft. board again - dah tak biasa sebab pakai board NSP 9'2 di US.

Itu lah rumusan aktiviti November.

Semalam aku lepak dengan kawan-kawan London di 'The Pav' (some moniker created by Nana for her fav place in KL , The Pavillion)

Kitaorang dinner di Al Amr - boleh tahan makanan dia. Hummus was nice, the bread was freshly baked. The soujuk was superd together with the cheese rolls. Yum Yum.

My grilled half chicken came out very nice and so was Puts' grilled beef. All in all memang best but slightly on the pricey side - 3 appetizers + 4 main course set us back around 270rm.

Lepas itu kitaorang lepak di Baskin Robbins. Oleh sebab tempat tu dekat dengan cinema, aku nampak la trailer New Moon dan tanya pada kawan2 aku jika mereka dah lihat that teen flick yang di gilai remaja2 high school di US.

Puts kata cerita cinta semi-vampire itu tidak berpegang pada the supposedly true facts of vampires, contoh nya bila vampire2 dalam cerita Twilight itu boleh glitter dalam matahari. I think they were toned down a bit in the movie so the target market of the book - highschool students can absorb the whole 'Hey I might want to drink you blood but I think you're interesting enough I'm falling in love with you - biting can wait later on the 3rd date'

ok apa lah aku merepek kul 5 pagi ni...

later guys!

the last yellow leave of autumn

2009-11-09T23:49:00.000-08:00

O you are the last yellow leave of autumn!
Hanging desperately to your branch of life
The one you have spent a sunlight soaked summer with

O the last yellow leave of autumn!
Your fate is down there
on the cold ground of northwest
there lies the dark red, purple and brown leaves
waiting for your arrival in gloom

despair not O yellow leave!
after a long and lonely cold winter
new vibrant green leaves would grow
like a broken heart trying to feel loved again

Surf this weekend?

2009-10-29T10:27:00.000-07:00

Forecast looks good for Westport this weekend.. I'm going to go to Kristy's place for dinner on saturday..she asked me to cook up some Kuah Kacang..so that will be on Saturday hopefully can go surf Sunday! harap2 tak hujan kat west Washington coast!

Check out the vids from the Groins (one of the surf spots @ Westport) here!
http://magicseaweed.com/video/flvplayer.php?id=1254

Pengembaraan Naik Gunung Olympic

2009-10-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

so..it was a fun weekend..Saturday was spent up on the mountain @ Olympic National Park and Sunday I went surfing at Westport..but surf session wasn't so good though..too much whitewash ended up like a blanket in a washing machine. But thanks awesome bonafide popeye's 2pc chicken dinner , Sunday was back to its awesome self again..BONAFIDE! i just love that word..try saying that when you are ordering to an African American at the counter with a southern slang ' Can I have spicy 2pc BONAFAAAIDDDDDDE chickennn??' suddenly you feel like a 'brotha' hehe just kidding folks

anyway you can find the pictures from my trip here

click here for full album http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=165411&id=594817574&l=349677c6a3

and the video is here:

ok that's all for today! :)

Westport ,WA surf trip last weekend

2009-10-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

or clicky here

http://www.facebook.com/v/193506292574

:)

kisah pengembaraan omar mencari fries terbaik di seattle

2009-10-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

cerita 1

aku dulu pernah duduk di London selama 2 tahun
over time aku develop an appreciation for starchy potato chips cut thick and long like steak fries and drizzled with liberal amount of vinegar and salt..ahh yes..the good stuff

a good chips need to be soaked for about 30 mins after being freshly cut and then dumped straight into the fryer.. (i forgot the temp)

apparently it is quite hard to get a good fries around here. the best fries I've had from fast food restaurant is surprisingly from this restaurant called Jack In the Box..think McD but with freshly cut (could be frozen) potatoes siap dengan skin on the side of the fries lagi..not some potato+flour mixture that is the McD ones

cerita 2
semalam aku terdengar iklan di TV mengenai satu restoran - nama dia Red Robin..popular northwestern restoran serving gourmet burgers..their selling point 'Bottomless Steak Fries'

ahh music to my ear..whoever invented this idea/concept needs to be given a nobel prize atleast he is 100x more qualified then Obamaa..haha sorry obama fan just kidding

so I went there..ordered the meal and got my fries..boleh tahan sedap..ada special seasoning spices you can sprinkle on top..steak fries is nicely cut however I think it has been frozen so it is not really freshly cut

anyway I've heard of another place serving good freshly cut fries.. Zesto's ..around Fremont area..i'm gonna check it out soon and will update y'allll...

later!

peristiwa open house raya di seattle

2009-10-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

ah weekend yang relek.

apa aku buat? malam jumaat aku pergi ke Bellevue untuk tengok cerita 'Zombieland' dengan Hafid dan kawan Thai dia yang suka racing kereta. Cerita tu aku rate 8/10 freakin hillarious man, masa intro dia slow motion Zombie2 kejar orang2 bersama lagu Metallica 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' aku tergelak2 gila..classic scene enough said ...

hari Sabtu aku lepak rumah , pergi Wal Mart (rujuk cerita aku di rompak nenek di bawah) dan aku pergi open house seorang kakak ni yang tinggal di Issaquah WA. Dia berkahwin dengan seorang Korean di sini so anak-anak dia nampak macam orang jepun tapi yang agak 'tanned' lebih kurang macam surfer2 jepun yang aku pernah jumpa di Cherating semasa aku surfing di monsoon season. Hey monsoon season is coming soon! surf's up! :)

sambung cerita - setelah aku makan 2 pinggan nasi kerabu dan 2 mangkuk bihun soto aku relek2 di atas couch. Ada dua gadis seorang umur 14 tahun (Aisyah) dan Amina (or something like that) umur 24 tahun. Mereka hairan dengan rambut botak ku yang licin.

Aisyah tanya kalau boleh dia boleh pegang kepala aku , aku cakap go ahead je la
Amina pula hairan dan tanya dengan accent American dia (dia dah duduk di US sejak umur 10 tahun sampai 24 tahun)

Amina: 'why is it so smooth??? I don't think I can get that smooth shaving my legs!'

aku pun tak tau nak cakap apa especially bila dia compare kepala aku dengan kaki dia (mental image her shaving her legs comes to mind for about 1 sec but I quickly shut that thought down, for obvious reasons) pastu aku reply:

'maybe it is the way you shave???'

tu jela peristiwa open house di Seattle yang aku mahu ceritakan kali ini..

sekian terima kasih

Aku di Rompak oleh Seorang Nenek

2009-10-11T03:32:00.000-07:00

memandangkan hari ni hari minggu, aku mengemas lah rumah dan membuat laundry. Lepas itu aku participate dalam aktiviti spiritual wajib utk any American , iaitu shopping di Wal Mart. Aku nak beli detergent , lalu aku masuk wal-mart , ambil bakul kecik dan jalan2 di aisle cari detergent. Aku pusing2 dulu saja kerana walmart ni interesting untuk tengok barang2 yg di jual ada juga yg murah kadang2.

sedang aku jalan2 , baju aku (aku memakai hoodie) di tarik oleh seorang makcik tua , lingkungan 60an - mungkin of chinese/japanese descent. Dia nampak bakul aku masih kosong lalu dia tarik bakul aku dan kata 'i take this, you take new one' sambil dia tersengih.maybe sebab 1. dia mmg tengah pegang about 3 items dan takde bakul 2. dia malas nak jalan pegi ambik bakul jadi dia curi aku punya je.

takpela nenek , cos you're old i guess i'll let it slide this time. damn ..kena rompak ngan orang tua kat walmart..mana nak sorok muka.

UK Flyback Video

2009-10-07T17:46:00.000-07:00

taken around Oct 08 during my trip back to London for about 2 months

:)

Cerita Mengenai Pizza

2009-10-06T17:42:00.000-07:00

Cerita 1
Minggup lepas semasa aku berjalan2 di sekitar pekan Everett (tempat client site aku) sambil mengambil gambar dengan kamera filem F100 aku , aku terlihat satu kedai Brooklyn Pizzeria.
Aku memang meminati pizza ala NY kerana ianya ada lah nipis , macam pizza2 yang pernah aku makan semasa aku backpacking di Italy dulu.
Aku bertanya kan kepada Kristy , team member aku , jika dia pernah makan situ - dia kata pizza itu nipis sangat dan dia terpaksa order 2-3 keping untuk kenyang. Jadi dia tak berapa suka tempat itu.

Cerita 2
Semalam aku cuba kedai Brooklyn Pizzeria (rujuk cerita 1). Aku order Napoletana pizza (cheese pizza je) yang berharga dalam lingkungan 15 dollar campur tips.
Setelah tunggu 15 minit seorang pekerja Mexican datang membawa pizza aku - tapi aku nampak ada peperroni. Untuk pengetahuan sekalian, pepperoni di US ni ada mengandungi pork , bukan macam kat pizza hut malaysia
di mana pepperoni mereka ada 100% beef. Aku tanya kepada waitress yang separa kiut (cukup kiut untuk jadi part time model) , 'Excuse me, I think I've ordered medium Napoletena , that does not come with pepperoni right?'
Waitress itu melihat kepada resit aku dan angguk dan berkata 'sorry I'll ask them to make a new one, do you want a free slice to hold you off while waiting for the pizza?'
aku pun setuju saja lah - sekeping pizza percuma sementara menunggu pizza aku di masak semula - itulah baru customer service yang aku suka pasal Amerika ini.

Cerita 3
Aku lunch pizza (rujuk cerita 2) dan ada banyak left over. Jadi aku tapau lah di dalam kotak dan letak pizza di dalam kereta kerana aku tak mahu bawa masuk dalam ofis.
Habis kereta aku berbau. Dalam pukul 4 petang begitu aku rasa lapar dan Oh!! teringat pizza di dalam kereta. Lalu aku pergi ke kereta dan makan pizza yang sungguh sejuk itu
Pada masa itu Pizza sejuk itu merupakan pizza paling sedap aku makan sekali , ntah mengapa...Ia macam masa anda masih sekolah dan bangun pagi worrying you'll be late for school and only to find out it is a Saturday! yes that kind of feeling.. :)

sekian tamat

gambar pizza dan restoran akan di upload soon.

:)

uk black and whites video

2009-10-05T18:48:00.000-07:00

a video compilation of some of B&W film photos taken over the span of 2 years when I was in UK

Barcelona Trip

2009-10-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Video taken during my Barcelona trip

cerita-cerita moustache a.k.a misai

2009-10-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

cerita 1

aku baru melihat gambar bapa Mariq di FB . Aku rasa kan bahawa bapa dia ada misai dan janggut yang macho memang sesuai dengan personaliti dirinya sebagai bekas askar. Teringat aku cerita kartun Family Guy di mana protaganis cerita itu 'Peter Griffin' pernah membela ('is 'membela' a proper word to use when saying to grow a moustache?') ..er where was I.. oh ya Peter Griffin pernah membela misai dan berkata 'with great moustache comes great responsibilities.

cerita 2

seperti kalian tahu , aku baru balik ke Seattle. Aku takde mood untuk mencukur kepala ku yang memang dah botak pun dan juga misai/janggut ku. Semalam masa aku di client site , Kristy (aku punya client yang aku tengah training) tanya aku 'hmm are you growing a moustache?' kerana aku macam ada 5'oclock shadow bak kata mat salleh. Aku tengok dia dengan muka jetlag dan dia perasan tenungan mamat ini yang tengah jet lag dan takde mood utk bercukur lalu dia sambung berkata 'maybe grow moustache just for today huh?' . Aku pun jawab 'Yes'. Tapi sampai hari ni aku pun belum cukur rambut/misai lagi.

cerita 3

aku pernah tengok cerita State Trooper yang amat kelakar di mana ada satu watak protaganis nya juga menyalah gunakan kuasa dia sebagai polis jalanraya dengan membawa balik satu pasangan eropah ke rumah dia kerana mereka ni agak how to say 'horny'. Lalu dalam satu scene itu , protaganis dengan misai tebal nya melihat kepada pasangan ini dan berkata 'Who wants a MOUSTACHE RIDE!!!!?'

apa tu Moustache Ride? (naive look on)

Does Siti gets one?

Jalan2 KL Ambil Gambar di Bulan Puasa

2009-09-29T19:58:00.000-07:00

taken while I was back in KL about 2 weeks ago

terima kasih!

Wendy di Hawaii dan kisah seorang pengusaha restaurant vietnam di Everett

2009-09-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

Cerita 1

Hari ini aku membuat panggilan kepada Wendy , kawan aku yang tinggal di San Francisco. Harijadinya baru lepas di tengah bulan September lalu aku call dia semasa makan di restoran vietnam kegemaran ku , Pho on Broadway (sila rujuk cerita 2 di bawah)

Wendy menyambut harijadinya dengan lawatan ke Hawaii selama 4 hari. Aku lalu bertanya kepada dia 'How was Hawaii?' dia berkata dia jatuh cinta dengan laut di Hawaii. Aku tanya dia kalau dia sudah pandai berenang kerana sebelum ini dia tak pandai berenang , tapi dia kata dia masih tidak boleh lagi berenang. Aku bertanya juga jika ada banyak surfer di area Wakiki beach - dia kata banyak surfer pegi North Shore (40 minit utara dari Waikiki Beach) kerana ada big swell yang datang dari Alaska.

Aku jeles dengan orang yang dapat pergi Hawaii.

Cerita 2

Al kisah nya aku suka makan soup vietnam untuk lunch break di sini.

paling kurang dalam seminggu itu mesti pergi sekali untuk mendapatkan sup itu yang lebih dia kenali sebagai 'Pho' ( di sebut 'Fe' bukan 'Fo')

hari ni aku pergi semula ke restaurant itu setelah sebulan tidak pergi di situ kerana puasa dan balik ke Malaysia. Seperti biasa aku order Pho Ga bersama Shrimp Spring Roll. Semasa membayar makanan aku , pengusaha kedai tersebut tanya kenapa dah lama tak datang lalu aku jawablah aku puasa sebulan lepas tu balik Malaysia. Pastu dia terkejut dan berkata 'I was in Malaysia for one year!'

Aku terpikir lah kisah2 yang dia pernah bercerita yang dia ini dulu jurujual kereta di Seattle etc lalu aku bertanya 'were you working in Malaysia that time?' pastu dia gelak 'HA HA HA no I was a refugeee..at Pulau Bidong in Terengganu'

tambah dia lagi 'I used to sell food to the malay there..they taught me how to count in Malay .. Satoo, DUA..teega...ampattt..limaaaa'

rupanya dia ni seorang pelarian Vietnam pada masa itu dan lepas Malaysia dia dapat pergi ke US dan memulakan hidup baru, jadi jurujual dan boleh buka restoran di sini. Kita ni yang hidup senang pun mungkin takkan berjaya seperti dia..

itulah kisah kali ini

ya aku sudah pulang ke tanah kelahiran Starbucks dan music grunge ( dah balik Seattle le)

lagi beberapa bulan lagi harap2 lah dapat balik Malaysia for good

suratan takdir dan gadis baju kebaya merah di little penang cafe KLCC

2009-09-23T00:02:00.000-07:00

cerita 1

hari ini aku lunch bersama beberapa orang kawan

aku mengambil seorang kawan di tempat kerja nya dan dalam perjalanan ke KLCC aku memasang lagu Gersang 'Suratan Takdir' yang menceritakan kisah seorang player di tahun 80an terpaksa memilih antara dua kekasih

kawan aku M (yang nama nya akan di rahsiakan) berkata bahawa bekas kekasih suka lagu ini kerana bekas kekasihnya perasan lagu itu pasal dia. Aku yang mengetahui kisah mereka sedikit sebanyak mengangguk kepala dan setuju dengan pendapat nya itu

cerita 2

di KLCC hari ini penuh dengan gadis2 comel belaka yang masih berada di dalam perasaan perayaan ('in festive mood' le)

ada yang berjalan2 di KLCC lunch memakai baju kurung , ada yang memakai baju executive dress work (Seperti satu gadis cina di Kinokuniya bersama handbag LV dia - sungguh la lawa dan elegan)

aku makan lunch bersama beberapa kawan hari ni dan ternampak satu kumpulan gadis2 tengah lunch break.. mereka duduk di belakang kita orang

lalu aku tanya pada Mariq : 'tu baju merah .. 7 O'CLOCKK..comel tak?'
mariq menjawab : 'boleh tahan'
kawan perempuan yang lunch bersama kami terdengar dan berkata 'have you seen her freckle?'
sorang lagi yang bekas kekasih nya peminat lagu Gersang (rujuk cerita 1) berkata 'baik you date i je'

entah lah..gadis kebaya merah tu nampak comel :)

oh selamat hari raya semua! :)

maaf fizikal dan mental!

desperado

2009-09-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

Why don't you come to your senses?
come down from your fences, open the gate.
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you.
You better let somebody love you.
before it's too....late.

Seksyen 23

2009-09-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

This mobile phone picture was taken about last Saturday at the Darul Arqam mosque which is about 15 minutes away from my apartment. This is one of the mosque available for us Muslims around the north Seattle suburbs - for Friday prayers, terawikhs and other Islamic activities. Now I'm not really that religious but I do make it a point to go there for every Friday prayers and since everyday Friday I get to work from home - it is easier for me to attend the Friday prayer.

Anyway what's the relationship of the above title with the picture you might have asked? Well you see, during last Friday's Solat Jumaat, the head of the mosque community have asked to us not park our car along the road blocking the path to the our neighbor's entrance because some of the neighbors have complained about this issue to the city councils and the city councils have asked the mosque committee to limit the number of people in the masjid because the mosque compound is technically licensed to hold bout 100 people at one time or about 75 cars. As you know in the States, city councils are pretty strict with fire hazards/safety and all so hence the limit on the number of a people (Depending on the size of the compound).

So the mosque's head of the committee asked us to please park at the proper place and if we can't find any, park somewhere further away and walk to the Masjid so not to bother the neighbors. He pleaded saying specifically 'brothers, I ask you to do this for the masjid as we are at risk of being shut down by the city councils for violating the fire safety code, please do not allow us to be left without masjid especially during this Ramadan'

So I hope the brothers would understand this and park carefully in the future while the mosque committee should look into expanding so that it can cater to the growing number of Muslims in the area. Such is the pressure for the surrounding community - is it due to how Islam is stereotyped? Maybe yes or maybe not but I actually think the fire hazard safety code is actually quite good for us and the complaints from neighbors would help us stick to all these safety code for our own good.

I also remember back in Michigan, about 8-9 years ago while I was studying there..I've read a news article about how a few Muslims tried to open up a mosque in the nearby city. These are professionals Muslims doctors/engineers etc looking for a place so they can congregate for Friday prayers together. However some of the local American community is up in arms against the idea of having a mosque in their city. Kind of like what my Economic professor would say - the NIMBY attitute ( 'not in my backyard'). Some in the local community said 'the mosque would bring influence of terrorism' lah , 'the mosque would be funded by terrorist' 'our small town way of life is 'threatened' by the existence of this mosque' etc. I mean wait a minute , we are not opening up a drug den or something , just somewhere peaceful where people can congregate and practice our religion. Is the sight of a guy with Kopiah or veiled ladies would send them shivering or something? Destroy their way of life? I don't this so...the most funny thing is due to the pressure from local community , the city council is actually thinking of paying these Muslims to have their mosque somewhere out of town!(but that idea got shot down)

so how does all these relate to the topic of this post? well my friends, whatever that has happened to our Muslims brothers all over the world, the stereotypes and prejudiced and all that have happened to our fellow Malaysians of Indian descent in Shah Alam Seksyen 23. Some of these ultra Malays are acting just like some of those Americans who are against the idea of having a Mosque in their town. They're using the 'sensitivities of the Muslims' as a reason for being against the mosque etc. Where in Islam does is that 'sensitivities' is defined? Please don't hide behind our religion and us it as a weapon to argue your way through these issue. Your Muslims brothers overseas are facing the same issues/prejudice as these temple-goers , brothers you should now better.

Shame on you

(going for Chicken Tikka Masala for buka puasa tonight)

Marine Park, Everett

2009-08-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

since I'm fasting , I'll make full use of my lunch break time to explore new places around my project site. This place is about 10 minutes from my client's site - a nice marine park with ferry to a nearby man made island.

Marine Park with Mt Baker snow capped moutain top in the far distance

Fishing Jetty, you can fish and go crabbing here..a lot of crabs but most of them are still quite young

waiting for the crab

view from the fishing jetty , water is quite clear around here

fish jetty

seruling anak gembala

2009-08-23T01:01:00.000-07:00

Hari rabu lepas aku dapat di dalam peti surat aku seruling yang aku beli online di ebay

seruling ni adalah itu scale Arabian - i think it is kinda melodic minor scale lah

took me a few days to get a proper sound of it..

the initial mistake was to blow into it , after reading some tips baru aku tau kena tiup across the blow hole.. it is a side blown hole

why seruling? cos I'm bored

tapi ada banyak faktor membuatkan aku nak beli seruling ini -

1) dengar seruling dalam lagu2 melayu traditional dan juga lagu seperti intro kepada Masihkan Kau Ingat by Kopratsa , Bila Rindu by Ruffedge (masa part ada puisi tu) dan intro lagu M Nasir Satu Hari di Hari Raya

2) ada satu waktu aku , Ayu , Nani , N dan Izatul pegi Taman Tasik Titiwangsa untuk bermain badminton dan sedang lepak2 di situ kedengaran ada satu pakcik main seruling..sungguh enak bunyi nya

3) lagu Seruling Anak Gembala by Jeffrydin , kisah seorang pemuda gembala kambing dengan seruling nya di tepi lembah sungai

4) tambah koleksi alat musik yang di gunakan untuk lagu tradisional melayu (tapi tak pernah rekod apa2 pun)

so itu lah kisahnya..nanti aku try record video aku main

sekian terima kasih

ps: selamat berpuasa kepada kawan2 muslim dan sewaktu dengan nya..yang bukan muslim , enjoy the buka puasa buffet! :D

floss gigi dan gadis cina amerika

2009-08-22T00:37:00.000-07:00

gadis cina amerika dari San Francisco datang melawati ku di Seattle pada akhir bulan lepas

selepas aku mengambil dia di airport , kami terus ke pantai dan kemudian makan malam di restoran korean hoo soonyi

dalam perjalanan balik ke rumah , dia berkata 'do you have floss at your place?'

aku menjawab 'err no'

lalu dia hairan dan berkata 'so..errm don't you floss your teeth?'

aku kata 'err nope...'

dia melihat aku semacam bagaikan orang yang tak mandi seminggu

terus aku singgah Walgreen Phramacy dan beli floss

moral di sini: floss lah selalu, berus gigi tidak mencukupi

johnny cash

2009-08-19T18:57:00.001-07:00

hari ni aku pakai serba hitam ke tempat kerja

baju ku hitam , sepatuku hitam, seluar ku lebih kurang hitam kerana ianya berwarna biru gelap dan kulit ku pun boleh tahan hitam dek musim panas di Seattle baru-baru ini

lalu salah seorang kawan sejawatan(?) bernama Karla bertanyakan pada ku ' all black? are you johnny cash or something?' aku hanya mampu senyum kerang busuk dan kata 'i look slimmer'

itulah kisah aku di kerja hari ni

edmonds' fishing jetty

2009-08-15T23:54:00.000-07:00

kids playing around while waiting for their dad fishing..

i love alki beach

2009-08-15T12:37:00.001-07:00

think I'll go jogging today

unite..lead

2009-08-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

sometimes being away on some far cold land, one can't help but to think about Malaysia and her sunny days and warm rains. usually I'll make it a point to read all the news portal from Malaysiakini to Utusan to Malaysia Today/etc just keep up to date with what is happening in Malaysia.

at times I think our country is going down the shithole but then again I see hope in the aspirations of younger generations being actively involved with NGOs etc, trying to make Malaysia a better place

anyway , i think the message from this photo taken about a month ago in NY kinda related to the gist of this boring blog post :) The picture was taken inside NY's Grand Central Station

looking forward for my Raya break..until then take it easy!

Weekend Escape to NYC

2009-07-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

..met up with Zil who came all the way from London and lepak with him @ NYC

here are some the pics

woof heart NYC

on top of Rockfeller Plaza

took a 30 minute stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge

one of Chinatown's garden with Arts/Poems from the local community

illegal handbags peddlers @ Canal Street , not far from Chinatown..

somewhere lower west side along 7th Avenue

NY Times Square, shot from inside the taxi cab

Empire State Building as viewed from the top of Rockefeller Plaza

a visual exhibition @ NY Grand Central Station

more here at www.flickr.com/photos/omarjamaludin

4th of July

2009-07-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

'Well, maybe I'll call
or write you a letter.
Now, maybe we'll see on the Fourth of July.
But I'm not too sure, and I'm not too proud.
Well, I'm not too sure and I'm not too proud to say.....'

(Better Than Ezra)

Ah fourth of July..... BBQ , fireworks, sunny summer day and girls out on the beach....
this is what I've been up to over the long weekend..

God Bless America!

(if you're Osama Bin Laden and somehow reading this , what I was meant to say is Die America! just kiddin ha ha)

on the way..I love American highways

Westhaven State Beach

posing kejap

surfboard for surfing

surfer during sunset

Westport dock area

deep fried halibut w/ chips

blues festival

overall the trip was very fun, good food , good surf and sunny weather. On Friday the surf was a bit choppy with 7ft whitewash all over feels like swimming in the laundromat but Saturday it mellowed down abit - got past the whitewash .. I think it must be about 10ft deep and somehow I've panicked and quickly paddled back to the shore...

Feels weird to be the only Malaysian (trying) surfing there with 5/4mm wetsuits on hugging the not-s0-flattering 95 kilo body of mine but oh well..... :)

Hopefully I'll be able to lose some weight so I can paddle faster and put to good use my 9'2 longboard - need to prepare for Malaysian monsoon season brahh!

later gator!

what have i been up to lah?

2009-05-07T21:59:00.001-07:00

kerja on the weekdays of course..went back home to this

cooked up some dinner

sometimes hang out with colleagues ..playing pool / dinner etc

checked out the first Starbucks store ..though I'm not a fan really..give me Kopi Susu kampung style anytime man.

went surfing the cold water of northwest pacific

bought a longboard skate and went around Alki Beach , West Seattle

very pretty view of the city from here

then I've also checked out Kerry Park at the Queen Anne's district - north of Seattle

nice view innit?

that's all..things that I need to do
1. take a ferry to the islands
2. go checkout Cascade mountain and valley
3. surf surf surf surf
4. go LA meet up with izmir
5. go hawaii and surf north shore..kena wipeout pun takper

ehehehe

later

Stalk Me at Alki Beach

2009-04-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

view from Alki Beach , West Seattle...this is where Meg Ryan used to stalk on Tom Hanks and his kid (in that famous movie set in Seattle of course) ha ha

thought the texture of the body of water looks better in BW..so... ;)

pedas

2009-04-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

so..Joan and I were at this Thai joint called Thai Gusto..just few blocks from our client's site.

Joan ordered some fried rice while I was thinking some tom yum would be nice...

waitress (in bad english accent) : 'sawaaaddeeekap, warrd you likkke?'

joan: 'prawn house special fried rice pleaseee'

waitress: 'you sirrrr?'

omar: 'tom yum chicken please ..with white rice'

waitress:' how spicyy? one to fiveee?' (level of spiciness)

omar: 'six'

waitress thinks hard for few seconds to computer the answer

waitress: 'haa haa haa six!'

oblivious to love

2009-04-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

sometimes when you're on the road so much, travelling about the world, you kinda forget about what makes you happy inside..

First Week in Seattle

2009-04-08T08:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,

It has been a week. Thank god the weather has been kind - folks here said that it was pretty bad the last 2 months but last weekend was awesome-o. It is going to get quite cold soon. Currently it is sunny around 20 degrees celcius.

I kinda miss Malaysia ..as usual..I was getting a heavy dose of home sickness on Monday and Tuesday. Monday I was too jet lagged , I didn't get any sleep the night before so I was in the office that morning feeling sluggish and moody , cursing why do I sign-up to become a consultant whose job takes him far far away from his beloved country.

Tuesday I was feeling homesick as the night before I was dreaming of just chilling in KL with my best friend , go up to Kuantan chilling and surfing with Hezri. So when I woke up and realized the cold surrounding of my apartment I was feeling really melancholy and homesick.

Anyway by end of Tuesday I was feeling better. I had Taco Bell for lunch! Hmm Grande Quesadilla is a good comfort food. I took some pics , will upload them later kot.

The project site it situated near the town centre and from the distance you can the snow capped mountain ranges that extends all the way to Canada. How nice...

Oklah that's all for now..back to work dear Blog.

Regards,
Omar

clouds bring the f-stop blues

2009-03-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

inspired by this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfmVadQgA0E

'Driftwood floats, after years of erosion,
Incoming tide touches roots to expose them,
Quicksand steals my shoe,
Clouds bring the f-stop blues'

i'm back for good

2008-11-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

jet lagged still..

my grandad at the local barber @ Penanti, Penang

snow..london..october

2008-10-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

the sight of the first snow flurries of the year falling down gently against the dark skies but being illuminated by a street lamp is one the pretties sight ever...

:)

September Black & Whites

2008-10-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Selamat Hari Raya guys...i'm heading to Barcelona this Thursday and will be back for good in Malaysia by end of this month.. :) anyway here are some photos taken around september last month during puasa and first week of Raya

in the bus on the way to Hackney Central

Hackney High Street

Raya open house at Clapham Junction - Nana (the host) is in the kitchen while her boyfriend Moe is setting up the table

shopping - a religious experience?

Uxbridge Metropolitan and Piccadilly tube station

tube tube tube

2008-10-08T07:59:00.001-07:00

'tube' ada lah nama gelaran untuk sistem pengangkutan bawah tanah di London kerana terowong dia merupai bentuk tiub.

saya suka 'tube' sebab saya selalu naik 'tube'

ini ada lah gambar2 di ambil se-masa saya menaiki 'tube'

sekian terima kasih :)

Gadis di Malaysian Hall

2008-09-26T16:25:00.001-07:00

hari ni..aku pegi lagi sekali ke Malaysian Hall

rasa bersalah lama tak pegi Terawikh setelah mendengar Khutbah Jumaat oleh seorang Pak Arab ni..kata nya malam ni maybe Lailatul Qadar..

memang rasa agak bersalah sedikit kerana puasa ni aku rasa cam orang kata setakat puasa lapar je..cam tak rasa berkat di hati

so tadi sementara mendengar khutbah Pak Arab sorang ni sambil melihat sekeliling dewan music Royal Holloway University (ada xylophone and marimba bersepah, bila depa ni nak dpt masjid sendiri?) aku berazam la utk pegi Malaysian Hall nak terawikh..

sebenarnya aku work from home hari ni..hantar 5 kotak balik ke Malaysia jadi kena tunggu courier datang utk pickup kotak2 itu..lepas solat Jumaat aku pikir 'takpelah jom pegi client site Xerox di Uxbridge, lepas tu boleh pegi central London and check out Malaysian Hall kejap! boleh aku claim tambang ke London itu sebagai apa itu orang panggil 'project expense' he he he

lalu aku call taxi dan pegi ke Uxbridge (30 min dari kediaman ku) dan sampai pukul 3.15 petang. SAMPAI PUKUL 3.15 PETANG KE CLIENT SITE?!!! ON A FRIDAY?!? APA GILA KONSULTANT SORANG NI..aku terpikir dalam hati..takpelah..kita kan zaman maju..skrg tele commute je..datang opis bila perlu..boleh cut carbon emission bak mat salleh kata ..'green lifestyle la you'

dah la sampai kul 3.15pm, tepat 5.30 pula aku bergerak ke stesyen tube Metropolitan line pegi ke Baker Street dan amik Bakerloo line ke Piccadily Circus. Aku mengidam Chicken Katsu Curry di Tokyo Diner yang berada di area Chinatown so aku pegi situ makan dulu. Kemudian aku rasa lapar..lalu dalam hati aku terpikir 'hmm pegi area Malaysian Hall tu ada kebab bes..Taza Kebab namanye..'

aku bergerak lah ke Bayswater, mengambil tube dari Leicester Square stesyen , ambik Northern Line dan tukar ke Central Line di Totenham Court Road , dan exit dekat Queensway stesyen. Dari situ aku berjalan lah ke Malaysian Hall..di depan Malaysian Hall aku boleh nampak melalui tingkap '..hhmm takde orang start solat lagi ..maybe awal lagi kot..baru kul 8 ni, depa solat time kul 9 camtu, takpelah turun kantin minum teh tarik jap'

dengan macho nye aku turun ke kantin, aku hari ni pakai lengkap sebagai seorang konsultant IT separa berjaya siap dgn kasut leather cokelat konon nya dari Italy tapi beli kat KL je bersama baju shirt double cuff aku yg di matching kan dengan cufflink dari negeri China hadiah colleague aku Hong Li Tan, So aku perasan macho dan turun ke kantin utk minum teh tarik..

di dalam kantin , aku terkejut! aku melihat gadis yg sama yg aku nampak exactly 18 hari lalu di tempat yang sama yang membuat kan aku menyanyi lagu James Blunt 'You're Beautiful' sepanjang minggu..

Panik! dia sedang makan dengan kawan dia..kantin itu busy..takde tempat duduk..aku berpura2 melihat sekitar kantin seolah2 mencari kawan aku yg invisible dan yang kononye ada tengah tunggu aku juga di kantin walaupun sebenarnya aku nak melihat lagi kepada gadis itu

tapi aku tau sape lah aku ni..aku ni hanyalah jejaka yg datang kerja di ofis pada 3.15petang di hari jumaat, mesti gadis ni yg sungguh comel sudah mempunyai kekasih bekerja di London sebagai Investment Banker or something, takpelah..kerana kesedihan..aku teringat misi aku untuk mencari kebab..lalu aku pergi lah makan kebab..dan kembali terawikh di situ

itu la sahaja kisah malam ni..

pengajaran di sini : kalau nampak gadis yg anda minat , ajak la dia berkebab sama..he he

babai

of kodachrome, saree wearing lady who've just shopped at tesco and piccadily circus

2008-09-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

i'm back in UK now :) so..it seems my raya gonna be spent here

was supposed to go back to Malaysia again this weekend for some training/knowledge transfer session but boss said no need to go back lah cos I'm gonna go back for good around end of Oct anyways..

anyway here's some pic to share :)

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

-Simon and Garfunkel

taken with a Nikon and Kodachrome of course , just like the song

ps. sorry for the dust/etc..slide film lahhh leceh to scan

of terawikh prayers, noisy kids and that cute girl at malaysian hall

2008-09-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

I am in malaysia right now..

for a week..

apparently my leave for Eid and also some training course at our Malaysian office a week after Eid was not approved by project management..

so here I am, enjoying one week of Ramadhan in KL..can't complain I guess! stocking up on Kuih as I'm typing this to bring back to London..hmm Jem Tart with crumbly outer layer..gotta ask my mom to source for this one from here UTM lecturer friends..

anyway last week Monday I was still in London.

Met Zubair , an ex colleague, and had buka puasa with him at Khan's Bayswater (popular north indian/pakistan restaurant at that part of the town). After that went to Malaysian Hall to checkout the Terawikh Prayers there...

while lepaking at Malaysian Hall sipping 1 quid (6 RM) teh tarik with Zubair, there's this cute Malaysian girl having dinner with her friends .. not sure if she's a student or works in London but well she's cute.. do you know that line from James Blunt 'You're Beautiful' song where he goes '..I saw your face in a crowded place, and I don't know what to do , cos I'll never be with you' ?

damn mcm itu lah aku rasa at that time..James Blunt i feel you man..(your lyrics that is)

so anyway, around 930 ada macam ceramah at the adjoining hall room next to the canteen and then we solat isya' and terawikh while the younger kids were playing around making noises at the back - their father was busy concentrating on prayers so his kids were kinda let loose for a while

after the first 2 rakaat of terawikh, this one typical old malay guy with kopiah went to the back row and scolded the kid (not too harshly though) 'Orang tengah Solat ni! senyap boleh tak! jangan main2 dalam surau! anak sape ni???!?' while the father from far away looks on kinda embarassed...

the following rakaat , their father went to back row to make sure his kids are praying properly and not making any noises..

ahh just like how it is in Malaysia

I bet I used to be just like that when I was growing up in Pittsburgh for 4 years

well..looks like I'm going back to Malaysian Hall again next week since my flight back is this Saturday....for the terawikh and also look for that cute girl again..

cue James Blunt song again

'and i don't know what to do....'

he he

selamat berpuasa...ramadhan karim

2008-09-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

first day of ramadhan..
my breaking fast dinner
kurma dates, some OJ (orange juice) and caesar salad bought from Tesco (had a can-ful of tune spread on top of it to give it more protein)

kinda sad innit?

no actually it is quite nice and light..easy on the stomach

selamat puasa :) 2 minggu lagi - jgn lupa beribadah - atleast pi la terawikh hehe

Kedai Piring Hitam di Soho

2008-09-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

Soho adalah kawasan trendy di bahagian West End London. Dulu tempat ini ada lah sarang pelacuran tetapi sekarang mempunyai seleksi kelab malam , pub dan restaurant yang menarik sekali. Saya hanya pernah makan di kedai Morocco di situ dan ia amat la sedap rasanya - macam saya berasa di padang pasir bila makan daging panggang campuran bersama nasi arab itu.

bapa saya pernah bercerita dengan pakcik saya bahawa nasi arab ada lah sungguh sedap lalu pakcik saya yang mempunyai bini kedua arab singapura berkata 'itu baru nasi bang jamal!' sambil ber'hint2 kepada bapa saya ..kami hanya gelak sahaja dan sungguh ironi kerana bapa saya bercerita pasal nasi arab itu kerana dia baru pulang dari haji

oh saya terpesong cerita pasal kawasan Soho ini..sesetengah kawasan di Soho ini boleh di kata kurang memuaskan dan juga tidak sesuai utk kanak2..bak kata Mat Salleh 'this joint is dodgy man'

tapi di situlah tempat sesuai untuk mengambil gambar-gambar jalan (street shoot) terutama gambar - gambar black and white..

tempat-tempat yang agak tidak sesuai utk kanak tapi bagus untuk ambil gambar hitam putih

ada sekali ibu dan bapa saya datang London melawati saya , dan semasa di Chinatown saya membawa mereka ke Soho sebab ia adalah jalan pintas ke kawasan Oxford Circus. Masa kami berlalu di depan jalan Great Windmill Street , terdapat beberapa gadis berpakaian agak seksi yang melambai di depan 'kedai' mereka ke arah saya dan bapa saya. Mak saya menjerit 'apa ni OMAR bawa UMMI ke tempat2 ini!!!'

'ala ni short cut je..kejap lagi sampai Oxford Circus..leh shopping kat Debenhams'

di satu sudut Soho , terdapat satu kedai vinyl LP jual second hand yang selalu saya pegi. saya tak mempunyai pemain piring hitam tetapi saya suka masuk kerana rasa kan ia amat cool sekali , berpura2 melihat dan browse semua piring hitam bagaikan seorang music connoisseur, malang nya saya tidak mampu untuk memiliki pemain piring hitam idaman saya - technics sl1200..

ok itu sahajalah..saya sebenarnya agak frust dengan kerja saya dan project management saya hari ni..tapi sebab puasa saya sabar je dan menchannel kan kebengangan itu ke blog yang tak seberapa ini..

sekian terima kasih

more black and whites

2008-09-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

taken early last month..

Trafalgar Square

London's Soho, abit dodgy area but good clubs and restaurants around

my office

Thames River with London Eye on the left and Parliament across it

hold umbrella for me please? it was a rainy day in london , tourists at Buckingham Palace sure don't look too happy innit?

Lunch at Patogh, Edgware Rd - excellent Persian restaurant - always go for Lamb Koobideh

St Paul's Cathedral view from the double decker bus while Faisal and I were on the way to Trafalgar Square

Notting Hill Carnival - Food and Block Party

2008-08-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

ok sambungan from last post

kinda penat today , just got back from Alton Tower theme park , tomorrow heading to beach pulak!

Rose you better belanja me makan for driving you up and down UK!

back to the topic here are rest of the pics taken that day during the Carnival:

one of the main reason I went to the carnival is to sample some authentic (i hope it's authentic) carribean fare , there about 10 stretch of road like these serving good ol carribean dishes to those 1.5 million carnival-goers.

I had this set of Jollof Rice (macam nasi tomato) with Brown Stew Chicken (insert toilet joke here) and Jerk Chicken.

one of the carnival-goers chilling and enjoying the food and some stella artois

these are the soundsystems where throughout the area about 40 DJ's will play different type of music from soul to reggae to some drum and bass shit (not really into that sorta music, I LOVE reggae and soul though!)

one of the old man enjoying and dancing to some reggae tune..ya Mon!

some of the DJ booth will sorta turn the whole street into a block party , this was taken at Oxford Garden - damn good DJ spinning some nice reggae and R&B music - I was dancing and groovin to the music for about an hour here.. MALAYSIA SHOULD HAVE BLOCK PARTY TOO!

The DJ at the block party

one of the rasta man enjoying the block party - pass a joint braaahh? LOL

keepin it real in the family

Well that's all my photos from the carnival! hope you guys liked it :)

Notting Hill Carnival

2008-08-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

well as I've mentioned in the previous post , last weekend was afro-carribean weekend for me
it was basically Steel Drum competition at Hyde Park and then the huge Notting Hill Carnival - more than a million people were in attendance! :)

one the main event of the carnival is the masquerade parade or simpy called 'mas'

this is where different local UK afro-carribean communities would put on their costumes and parade for 3 miles with the accompanying tribal/samba music

traditionally , this event was started about 30-40 years ago by Trinidad and Tobaga immigrants who came to London. Carnival to them , was at that time a means of celebration - because their owners back in the slavery days used to have Christian celebrations so wanting to join the fun , they created their own carnival.

pics of the masquerade:

I will post more on other events - the food stalls (jerk chicken!) and street block parties! :)

later!

Kuching di Dollis dan Anjing di Putney

2008-08-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month , my colleague Faizal asked me to take him around London and also meet up with his uncle-in-law Mohamed (he prefers to be called Matt) at Dollis Hill. He has been for 30 years now , married to a local Brit , and have been blessed with 3 grandkids already. The reason he's been here so long is because he is working with Yayasan Sarawak , sort of a caretaker of the Yayasan Sarawak House here. Anyways, he has these two cute cats , this is one of them called Brownie I think!

manja

strike a pose!

He also took us down to Putney to meet Evie, an old acquaintance who has this lovely dog named Jordie (pronounced 'Yor-Dee') Jordie was a bit aggressive at first, barking at us when we first got there but after a while , he was very friendly and tried to get me to play ball with him. I've rub head few times but was too busy munching on delicious Chocolate Cake which Evie has served to us (not forgetting tea! How English!)

Evie and her dog Jordie

'Sir do you want to play with me?'

Well what's new? I'm going to the Nottinghill Carnival this weekend. Expected crowd = 1.5 freaking million! The largest parade and street party in Europe and second largest after the Rio De Janeiro Carnival! Gonna shoot plenty of photos this weekend :)

Ok lah! nak tidur! Later gator!

Model Kain Pelikat Cap Gajah

2008-08-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

New Talent for Kain Pelikat Cap Gajah Advertisement

Pakai lah Kain Pelikat Cap Gajah!

Gaya Mutu Keunggulan ... CAP GAJAH

:P

The Count of Shoreditch

2008-08-14T06:43:00.001-07:00

taken at Brick Lane's Sunday Flea Market..

apparently he is looking for bargain used vinyl records

shot with Nikon F100 , 50mm F1.8D lens , Ilford HP5+ 400 B&W film push-processed 3 stops to 3200

some deep shit

2008-08-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

so we were at Sham's birthday party (previous post) where Aida was recommending some Chinese film..

'..it's about this buddhist monk , living by the lake'

'..his used to live alone, peacefully by the lake, then there's this one kid who keeps him company'

'..they take the boat and go around the lake...'

'...you guys should watch it laa, it's very nice and cinematography and all '

and then Omar said:

'so it's one of those some deepshit movie la?'

-end of conversation about that particular film-

typical of guys huh? :)

sorry Aida hehe..

Sham's Birthday

2008-08-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

it was held at Cantina @ Vinopolis - somewhere around Borough Market there...

Aida and I have this arrangement where she would order Stuffed Chicken and I would order Grilled Tuna - then we share both 50 -50

My Tune Grill

Surprise!

her birthday cake

reading the description of the gift 'it is black , big and will keep you all night'......it's a black coffee machine! LOL

That's all folks!

Last Weekend...

2008-08-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

"WHO SELECTED 'SOMETIMES' BY BRITNEY SPEARSSS?? I AIN'T GOING TO SING THIS!!"

says Omar , noting the lack of proper songs to sing during Karaoke session

2 minutes later into the song

Omar - "sometimes I Run! Sometimes i hideeeeee...." argg infectious melody ..can't..stop..singing...

Hahaha well last weekend was quite fun and full of activities..had abit karaoke session with Fera, Sham , Adam and Putri

Puts and Shamster

model iklan terbaru Coke

Ferr and Puts

had some Shawarma at Helen's afterwards, best Shawarma in town!

yummy ..one aint enough - usually i'll order two! :)

then on Saturday went to eat Nasi Lemak at Malaysian Hall with Mei Ying early in the morning.

check out the girl in the background (left side) that's Vanida Imran!! in London! Droooolllll... :)

here's a zoomed in version of the same pic

oh vanida, your performance in 'Anak Mami 2' shall be remembered by moi forever...

I think Vanida was in town for the Malaysian Festival Week promoting her film 1957.
After the Nasi lemak , I went to do abit shopping around Oxford Circus, bought some TM Lewin shirts and matching cufflinks - there is a sale going on now so a shirt cost about 25 quids where as usually it will be 40 pounds like that. Bought 3 shirts!

afterwards, I checked out the Malaysian Festival held at Potters Field Park , right next to the London Bridge

what a nice location

good turnouts as well

I will post more pics from the show later , but I did manage to sketch a few pictures while watching the band Istamusika perform :

that's Dato Suhaimi or Pak Ngah - top traditional music producer/composer playing the accordion. He composed the song Cindai (sung by Siti Nurhaliza 'how's the moustache?') and also Hati Kama sung by both Siti and Noraniza Idris (how's the husband doin? son still angry at you? :P )

That's Norehan , gambus/lute/oud player from Istana Budaya
I need to get one of 'em Gambus! I've got an accordion already as you all have already known hehe..

well will post more pics later.time to go for lunch! think i will do italian today, quattro formagi pizza or 4 cheese pizza..yum

later!

of mallorca, shaving and messed up ear canals

2008-07-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

nothing much have been happening really

I've got this nasty bacteria infection in one my lymph node , nicely positioned behind my ear canal so it's a bit hurting at the moment. Went to the Grove Medical Centre just coupla blocks from my office and went in to see this Doctor Victoria Preissling or summat

anyways, told her of this swollen-lymph-node-pressing-against-my-ear-drums feeling and she used one of her small gadget (not sure what it is called) and had a look in my left ear.

'THAT'S A MESS'

she said

'Did you just cleaned out your ear with cotton buds?'

'ERR..yess..it was abit painful so I cleared out the ear wax with some cheap cotton buds bought from Tesco..anyway yeah I've cleaned it out..like what i've always been doing for a good 28 years of my life'

'YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO CLEAN YOUR EARS , THEY'RE SELF CLEANING! ANYTHING SMALLER THAN YOUR ELBOW SHOULD NOT BE IN YOUR EAR'

obviously she is referring to the cotton buds

in my mind I was like 'So anything bigger than my elbow can be pushed in my ear? or nothing at all should be put in my ear? how does the elbow comes into play again?'

but yeah so there you go..cotton buds in your ears..no no..as advised by Dr Preissling..

anyway yeah she prescribed me some sorta spray , anti bacterial/inflammation spray to spray inside my ear 4 times a day. So being a good Malaysian , after I got out from her room , went immediately to the counter and gave 'em the prescription. The nurse over there was like

'err you need to go to the Chemist or Pharmacy to get the prescription'

'OHH sorry my bad , forgot this is not like how it is in Malaysia where you can get your medicine from your clinic!'

so off to Boots pharmacy store I went..

during the same day at the office - I was walking by Mary and Marilyn , two lovely chatty ladies who are the receptionist for our company. Mary was in a weird position - she was sitting but got her leg up on the table , wearing a skirt and was checking out her own legs while saying 'Mallorca! Mallorca!'

that's Mary by the way

I was like 'Mallorca?' (i think it's an exotic island off Spain like Ibiza)

'Yeah Mallorca, Marilyn (the other receptionist) wants to go there!'
while Mary checks her leg some more

I saw Marilyn , surfing the net , gathering info about Mallorca and maybe surfing www.lastminute.com to find last minute deals on the island trip ..while on the computer Marilyn said 'I need to go Mallorca, I need a break'

and Mary at her side said while looking at her leg all this while ' I need a SHAVE!'

I was like 'ERR..right.' and went straight to my desk

I love them both , so funny and cheerful and full of jokes hehe..these are the type of ladies whenever they see me coming in the office they will sing

'omar shariffff, omar sharifff , la la la '

'You guys are just making that up , there's no song called Omar Shariff'

I told them that

' La La La LAaaaa' they keep on singing....lovely folks :)

oh well that's basically how the day went..now it is 2.50am , can't sleep , pain in the neck (pun intended) due to swollen lymph node - might skip work tomorrow...

oklah ..talk later! :)

accordion and obama is in town - and some selected b&w photos again ..part two!

2008-07-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

read in The Sun today (no not the malaysian paper but the UK one) that he got around 200k ppl celebrating his visit to Berlin few days back..like a rock star man! he is in UK today - bet both Gordon Brown and Tory (Conservative Party) leader David Cameron are itching for some photo-op with Obama , cashing in on the Obamania..innitt?

on the other hand , this weekend has been quite mellow for me , going to london tomorrow again to get some B&W film/developer stuff and meet up with Puts, Ferr and Sham for lunch.. Dim Sum jom?

today did nothing much, was in Lambeth , London for Shireen's makan2 lunch get-together . Came back home , there was nothing much to do so I've decided to try out my Harmonium , a $150 quids reed (sorta like accordion) and played some joget pahang (miserable attempt i'd say)

here it is , captured on my phone and youtube'd it!

direct link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIMdy5PRQCY

to finish this post , here are some selected B&W photos taken about few months back! cheerioss blog later in coupla days...

mews - backlanes, roads that used to be full of horse stables which are converted to houses

Bonda - used to be called Nahar - a fav hangout spot at Paddington just at the basement of Mara House

st george celebration at trafalgar square - the singing chefs!

rena , ferr and ayie in the tube

Egham train station - about 45 mins from Waterloo , this is where I'm staying at for almost 2 years now

cheerios!

it's not as black and white ...

2008-07-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

selected B&Ws

colleague - Alison Loose , she is now in Sydney

tube station walkways

Charing Cross Rd. - in front of Leicester Square tube station

tube companion

client site..projects etc...

2008-07-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

well hello world ..

this week and maybe the coming weeks as well I'm gonna be mostly at client site (pictured left at client site)
Currently I'm working as a consultant to this project of a very well know copier brand..(give a hint it start with X and end with X and in the middle it has 'ERO' LOL)

one of my team member. Izzudin, is leaving this project for good this weekend.He has been with the project for about a year and a half now

anywayss just want to let you guys know that I'm going back to Malaysia for good soon , hopefully before end of this year - i know economy there is not doing so great, alot of uncertainties lah , political bickering but oh well..Malaysia is home to me.. hafta go back la cos i miss her so much (at least for another few more months until i get bored of her)..but i think i have been away for quite a while for the 'motherland', before being assigned to UK , I was assigned to another project at Dubai - working at Panasonic Dubai (pictured below at some Dubai hotel called Golden Sands) for more than a month ..so did abit travelling already! (mom bising that I should do Umrah!)

I'm pretty much gonna dive head first , not really having any job offer or anything - just going to take some time off to do some physiotherapy cos my knee is abit wobbly and I can't do any sports like surfing, jogging etc so it is really stressing me out that I don't have any avenue to release the stress..

so anyways..I'm just gonna enjoy these last few months here! i hope you guys are enjoying your time as well , where ever you are! :)

accordion progress!

2008-07-22T00:57:00.000-07:00

not much progress! back to the drawing board! hehe

(was trying to play Joget Pahang, a malay traditional number..well bits of it laa)

:)

later, off to client site!

love is...

2008-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

'..a quick kiss before boarding the train'

everybody all together now ..'awwwwwwwwww'

:)

taken at Piccadily Circus , Nikon F100 with 28mm f2.8 loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 iso film

hurts so good

2008-07-18T09:07:00.001-07:00

listening to john mellencamp's classic, I can't help but wonder the realities of life

ooops DAJUM! (silent J) i'm becoming like one of those damn sad blog again

:) anyways here are some photos taken june 08

waterloo station - this is where I'll usually go to with the train coming in to London from Egham

this is the egham train station

one of the many typical English houses around my area

this was taken at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 , while checking in to departure. Man I hate waiting to get into a plane..so leceh...

in malaysia - went to see Dr Ezlan , he's my orthopedics - got some problem with my wobbly knee - he said 'go to Brickfields, ask for Praba - he can sort you out..'

(praba is a physiotherapist by the way he he)

yours truly - jet lagged
taken by Hong Li in our Malaysian office

pegi Isetan membeli belah - shopping therapy
bought two pair of shoes that day..

singgah at Kinokuniya to get some book for lil sis Nadiah - The Host by Stephenie Meyer i think it was...

our siamese house cat - her name is simply 'Meow'

my younger brother Usamah with Meow

oklah that's all folks!

You Can Try to RUN!!!

2008-07-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

you can try - but i've just eaten one of your leg muahahahhaha
yummy leg btw, do you workout?

*notice how the cat is lickin his paw*

First Post, Sorta..

2008-07-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

' weiii kau ni mesti kaki blog eh?' tanya ada seorang si polan yang juga penyanyi kumpulan rock bawah tanah (underground le)

'err..setakat blog upload gambar aja ada lah..blog mcm diary/'citer sedih aku hari ni' takde la bang'

well technically this is not the first post/blog but more of continuing from here:
http://omarjamaludin.blogs.friendster.com

which is really more like photoblog instead of 'rambling' or things i've learn today kinda blog
dang it how can I import friendster blog to here ya?

btw Anwar recently got arrested by some cops with balaclavashamava thingy gadget which looks eerily like me 2 dollars ski mask bought at Target masa kat US...anyway i've misheard so at first I thought it was cops with Baklava ,that particular mediterranean sweets!

kat Nottinghill , ada this one shop is jual baklava which is very very nice..yummy

ok lah! later then, pray for more post!